Three Ethiopian political parties on Tuesday threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections in the remote eastern Somali state, citing a litany of complaints about ruling party conduct. Fierce disputes that sparked deadly violence in the capital in June persist over alleged fraud in the May 15 elections for which final results show a ruling party victory.
England is going crazy for cricket, with newspapers pushing football coverage off the celebrated back pages on Tuesday to agonise over the country’s dramatic draw against Australia in the third Ashes Test. The centuries-old game is enjoying a massive revival thanks to the heroics of England captain Michael Vaughan and his teammates.
A powerful magnitude-7,2 earthquake struck north-eastern Japan on Tuesday, injuring at least 56 people, triggering small tsunamis and shaking skyscrapers as far away as Tokyo, 300km to the south. A caved-in roof at an indoor pool in the coastal city of Sendai injured 14 people, national broadcaster NHK reported.
The 13-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) is facing mounting international pressure to act against Zimbabwe, where the destruction of townships and markets has left an estimated 700 000 people without homes, livelihoods or both, according to a United Nations assessment.
He has been ”spotted” all over the United States, in Canada, Europe, Mexico and Brazil, Paraguay, and most recently, in two coastal resort towns in Uruguay. Despite unconfirmed sightings in about 30 countries and on every continent but Antarctica, notorious Boston gangster James ”Whitey” Bulger remains elusive after more than a decade on the run.
Iraq’s Parliament extended a deadline for a new Constitution on Monday night after marathon talks failed to bridge differences between the main ethnic and sectarian groups. Deputies amended the existing interim Constitution to give negotiators another week to try to reach agreement on the future of the Iraqi state.
The United Nations warned on Tuesday of an explosion of HIV/Aids in lawless Somalia unless steps are taken quickly to stop the spread of the disease and reduce risk factors. The UN’s monthly report said infection rates were relatively low in areas where testing has been done compared to other parts of Africa, but could rise dramatically.
Allied Technologies (Altech) CEO Craig Venter announced on Monday that the JSE Securities Exchange-listed company has $100-million "at the ready" and could willingly buy, within 48 hours, the remaining 50% that the Econet Wireless group holds in Econet Wireless Global.
The Business Connexion group on Tuesday reported headline earnings per share of 74,9 cents for the year ended May 31 2005, from 34,2 cents a year ago. The group declared a normal dividend of 20 cents per share and a special dividend of 17 cents per share.
Specialist chemicals group Omnia on Monday announced its intention to apply to become eligible for emission-reduction projects under the Kyoto Protocol, which came into effect on February 16. In terms of the protocol, industrialised countries are given limitations on the amounts of greenhouse gases they can emit.